May
21
2010
Sweet Tart Lemonade
Last night I had success in finding just the right combination for the Lemonade my family likes… I hope you enjoy it too! 
4-5 lemons, juiced
3/4 cup honey
1 cup lemon concentrate
water
Take your lemons and juice them into a 2 liter pitcher. Add honey and then 1 cup of hot water to dissolve honey. Once dissolved add lemon concentrate and COLD water.
Put in fridge or serve over ice immediately!
Enjoy!
Side note: Our family has been trying to get away from soda. We drink a lot of water or honey sweetened tea. So this is a nice change to the same ole same ole, and for us it seems to cure that craving for soda.
AND…. for those of us trying to get away from that white sugar demon, this is a great alternative to traditional lemonade or even kool-aid!
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May
20
2010
I have been itching to make a lemon cake from scratch for a long while now… So after listening to a cd on the Family Meal Table, I was inspired to make our first meal thereafter special.
I began with making the lemon curd.
As I mentioned on facebook (if you are friends with me there 
I thoroughly enjoyed this.
It was very satisfying in a weird way. Here’s how you make it with the recipe I used…
Lemon Curd:
3 large eggs
1/3 cup (80 ml) fresh lemon juice (2-3 lemons) (do not use the bottled lemon juice)
1 tablespoon (4 grams) finely shredded lemon zest
3/4 cup (150 grams) granulated white sugar
4 tablespoons (56 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature (I used salted and it worked fine)
Lemon Curd: In a stainless steel bowl placed over a saucepan of simmering water, whisk together the eggs, sugar, and lemon juice until blended. Cook, stirring constantly (to prevent it from curdling), until the mixture becomes thick (like sour cream or a hollandaise sauce) (160 degrees F or 71 degrees C). This will take approximately 10 minutes. Remove from heat and immediately pour through a fine strainer to remove any lumps. Cut the butter into small pieces and whisk into the mixture until the butter has melted. Add the lemon zest and let cool. The lemon curd will continue to thicken as it cools. Cover immediately (so a skin doesn’t form) and refrigerate for up to a week.
Makes 1 1/2 cups (360 ml).
Note: If you want a lighter lemon curd whip 1/2 cup (120 ml) of heavy whipping cream and fold into the lemon curd.
Here is the cake recipe I used…
- 1 1/2 teaspoon(s) baking powder
- 1 teaspoon(s) salt
- 1/2 teaspoon(s) baking soda
- 1 cup(s) butter, softened
- 2 1/2 cup(s) sugar
- 5 eggs
- 1/2 teaspoon(s) vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup(s) lemon juice
- 3/4 cup(s) buttermilk
Filling:
- Lemon curd, raspberry jam, or icing
Directions
- Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour 2 parchment-paper-lined 8-inch cake pans. Set aside.
- Sift the flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda together. Set aside. Beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy using a mixer set on medium speed. Add the eggs, one at a time. Beat in the vanilla extract. Reduce mixer speed to low and add the flour mixture by thirds, alternating with the lemon juice and buttermilk.
- Divide the batter between the pans. Bake until golden and a toothpick tests clean, about 45 to 50 minutes. Cool in the pans on a wire rack for 20 minutes. Unmold the cakes and cool completely.
- Split cakes into 4 layers using a long serrated knife. Fill with lemon curd, jam, or icing. Apply crumb coat and frosting and decorate as desired.
After the cake was out and cooled I used this recipe for lemon buttercream icing.
- 1/2 cup(s) (about 3 large eggs) egg whites
- 1 cup(s) granulated sugar
- 1 pound(s) unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
- 1 tablespoon(s) finely grated lemon zest
- 1 tablespoon(s) fresh lemon juice
Directions
- Make the frosting: In a large stainless-steel bowl placed over a pot filled with 1 inch of simmering water, place the egg whites and sugar. Use a whisk to beat the mixture until it is very hot to the touch (about 160 degrees F). Remove from heat and, using a mixer set on high speed, immediately begin whipping the mixture until it is cool, thick, and glossy and has tripled in volume — about 5 minutes. Reduce mixer speed to medium and add the butter — about a quarter cup at a time — allowing 5 to 10 seconds in between each addition. Add the lemon zest and lemon juice and continue to beat until smooth and fluffy.
It turned out great. It was tart and sweet and wonderful.
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Mar
19
2010
For the longest time now, I have wanted to dip my own candles.
Reasons?
A: I love learning new skills
B: I enjoy burning candles frequently, but buying ‘good’ candles are pricey.
C: I want good candles, not the dollar store variety.
D: Beeswax candles burn clean and smell sweet like honey.
E: Learning how to make candles just adds to my list. My list is a mental list I keep of things I wnat to learn to do for myself and/or my family.
So I gathered my supplies.
You need some type of double-boiler.
You need your wax.
You need wicking.
You need somewhere to hang the candles.
Melt your wax in your double-boiler.
This can take a while unless you have the wax cut up in smallish sections.
You want your inside pot to be a bit tall so you can make longer tapers.
The shorter the pot, the shorter the candles will be.
Next, measure your wicking and double it with an extra inch or so. You are going to fold it in half and dip two candles at a time.
Make sure your place to hang the candles to dry is tall enough also, so your candles don’t hit the counter-top.
Now begin dipping.
There is no easy way around it, it takes a while and every little bit adds up to the final product… so you just have to keep at it.
Dip it, hang it, dip it, hang it… over and over til you get the candle you are looking for.
You once and a while have to stop and form or pinch off, those parts can be a bit tricky… but that is all
part of the learning experience.
When you have achieved what you are looking for…
Then in the evening, it gets even better…
Simply beautiful!
I have my all-natural beeswax candles in my etsy shop right now if you are interested in having some in your home.
Have a lovely day!
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Mar
18
2010
Alrighty… by the magic of blog-a-vision we are now a week later and ready to bottle up our Kombucha!
I brought my jars out of my closet and snapped a pic of the mushrooms floating in the tea. They almost look like a Jellyfish! They can float, they can sink, they can rise all the way to the top.. it is all fine!
As you can see, this one floated to the top of this jar.
A healthy culture.
Ok, now what I do is take the tea and run it through a strainer and collect any gunk that forms in the tea, little bits of the yeast. It isn’t going to hurt you to drink it but it is NOT pleasant. 
I strain it into a large measuring cup that has a spout for pouring…
Here is a picture of some of the collected yeast that is strained… it is a bit like a glob of mucus… Yes, I know it is gross! But remember the good qualities, plus you are not drinking this part!
Now I place a funnel into our bottles… I got these from a place that sells the stuff to brew your own beer and wine. These bottles are GREAT because they are resealable so there is no need for new corks or new caps!
I fill them as full as I can get them.
I have 10 beautiful bottles of Kombucha ready for the second brewing stage. I had 12 but I broke one and one is loaned out. I also have almost 8 cups of Kombucha left over that I don’t have bottles for. I am thinking about buying another case of bottles for Shannon for Christmas, he loves the stuff!
Ok, this is what you do now. Place the bottles or jars or whatever you store it in, back in a dark storage area for 5 more days… ***I used to not do this step…*** I do now because it makes a HUGE difference!!!!
While in the storage for the second brewing the Tea becomes bubbly, like soda or champagne and mellows a bit… It really makes a tremendous change!
So make sure you don’t forget this step.
Now you are ready to start the process over again!
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Mar
17
2010
Well, here we are at part 2! How to make Kombucha Tea!!!
Oh I also wanted to let you know Kombucha is said Kom-boo-cha
We used to say it differently so I thought you might not know either!
Step 1
You have to start with a HEALTHY shroom. You can order these from different sources, some can be quite pricey too, so watch out.
Don’t be alarmed at the sausages you see on the side of the shroom, you will not have these, they are just my fingers!
AND the brown stuff… NO BIG DEAL!!! This is just the yeast that grows!! SO don’t freak out!
Step 2: Brew the tea
For 2 gallons, I use 6 regular size black tea bags and 4 green tea bags
You can use all black tea or all green, but we like the mixture!
Now this is important!
Use a Stainless Steel pan, not a nonstick or any other type of pan. Only Stainless for this…
Step 3: Prepare your jars, I use 2, 1 gallon jars and you want to put 1 cup of sugar in each! Now, don’t worry about the sugar, this is what the SCOBY feeds on!
Pour your tea up in your jars and stir to dissolve the sugar!
Let this sit until it is lukewarm, you don’t want to put your mushrooms in until it is lukewarm because you will kill all that healthy bacteria if you put it in too hot!
Once your tea is cooled then you want to add a mushroom to your jar and add about 2 Tbsp. of Tea from your last batch of tea.
Now, take a linen napkin and use it to cover your jar and then put a rubber band around the mouth of the jar.
Stick this in a cool dry place (preferably NOT in the kitchen, because you want this to be away from the smells and heat from the kitchen) and leave it undisturbed for a week to 10 days!
Now you have Part 2 done! In a week you will have some nice tea to bottle, AND new Scoby’s to share!
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Chas